Building-permit value exceeds expectations for 2011
It appears conservative predictions for the construction industry in the Tournament Capital proved wrong.
With one month to spare, the city through the end of November had issued $157-million worth of building permits this year, exceeding expectations.
“Overall, I think this is still a pretty good year,” said David Trawin, director of development and engineering services.
The city originally forecast permit activity to settle into the $120-million to $140-million range.
Trawin is sticking with a similar conservative estimate for 2012.
There are a few projects the city is watching closely for next year, including the downtown Sandman Hotel and an institutional project near the Riverbend development in Brocklehurst.
Much of the credit for the positive year is being directed at the commercial sector, which accounted for roughly one-third of permit values through the first 11 months of the year.
However, residential permits did drop sharply in 2011.
The city issued 392 permits through November, but that figure is 20 per cent short of the 10-year average and well below last year’s total of 647 through November.
Trawin noted part of the reason for the sharp decline is the fact there were so many units built in 2010, some of which remain empty.
November proved to be a steady month.
The number of single-family permits issued in November reached 12, just two off the 14 permits issued during the same month in 2010.
Overall construction value dipped slightly, to $11.4 million from $12.1 million in November 2010.
In 2010, Kamloops issued $191-million worth of building permits, which was much more than expected.
The city has only topped the $200-million mark in permits once, in 2008, when it doled out $207-million worth of permits, which remains a record.
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